A Duty Unending
by Beloved Dawn
Summary: The poor girl just attracts all the wrong people. A look at Naru's life in Crystal Tokyo.


"Has the uprising been put down?" Neo-Queen Serenity asked from her position on her throne. She gazed down at her loyal Senshi regally, but they could see the concern in her eyes.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Replied loyal Venus, commander of the Queen's elite guard. She was trying very hard not to smile, and Serenity glared at her. Nothing about this uprising was funny.

Her husband touched her hand lightly, distracting her from her annoyance. "And the hostages?" Asked Neo-King Endymion, with a slight furrow of worry creasing his brow. None of the courtiers saw it, but the Senshi had known both of them too long and too well not to notice their concern.

"Safe." Answered bold Jupiter, a resigned look on her face. "We got them all out just fine. Mercury is a master of that sort of thing." The woman in question blushed lightly, but it looked like she was barely aware of the audience itself. She looked like she was thinking, hard.

"Good." Replied the Queen with a satisfied nod. She shared a look with her husband, both of them relieved beyond what the court would consider appropriate. "Now..." She was cut off by one of the young women before her.

"Pardon, Your Majesties, but there is something else about this matter I would like to bring to your attention." Wise Mars was the one that spoke up, giving them a little half bow to appease the nobles, all of whom thought these four were awfully presumptuous.

The royals exchanged a look, this time of shock. It was quite odd for the Senshi to bring anything about their work up in the audience chamber. The monarchs trusted them and gave them full authority to do as the wished. "Go on." Prompted the King, curiosity getting the better of him.

The four before the dais looked at each other, before Venus decided to say what they had discussed on the trip back. "It's about the jeweller who was taken in the attack on the mine, Your Majesty. We would like to petition the court to allow her to live in the palace."

Angry, confused babble broke out among the watchers. It was the dream of every one of them to merely be invited to _visit_ the palace. That these four were implying a mere _commoner_ should _live_ there... Well, it was beyond insulting.

"SILENCE!" Boomed their King. Endymion had been listening to them henpeck each other for a while now, before the Senshi had shown up, and was frankly sick of them. He glared, hard, at all of them, daring them to break his command. None of them did. He inclined his head to his beloved's guardians, implying they should continue. Jupiter, seeing his slight smirk, sent him a saucy wink. She knew how irritated politics made him. She was his usual sparring partner after really bad days, being the tallest.

"I believe, and my fellow Senshi have agreed," Began Mars, obviously taking over the topic from Venus, "That it is imperative, both to the personal safety of the lady in question and to the well-being of your realm at large, that she be allowed to live here, where she can be kept under our eyes."

The rulers blinked, then looked at each other again, nonplussed. "A spy?" Asked Serenity, confused. She couldn't think of anything else it could be that they'd want to keep locked up, but she also didn't think they'd let someone like that near her.

"Oh, for the star's sakes, Usagi!" Broke in astute Mercury, looking absolutely exasperated. She was even using the name her Queen and friend only used in private to get her point across. "We've already moved her in. She's here. Deal with it." She glared at the courtiers in a way that made them uncomfortably aware her element was ice. "She is _not ever_ living out of our sight again! I think Naru's been captured more than enough by the various enemies we've had, and I personally am _sick_ of having to rescue her!"

Neo-Queen Serenity, Bringer of Peace, Protector of Galaxies, had the most peculiar look on her face. She looked like she'd been smacked in the face with a fish. "Naru..?" She trailed off, looking at her husband for... something. He just shook his head, just as flabbergasted as her.

"Yes, _Naru_!" Came the reply from the blue-haired girl before them, who angrily put her hands on her hips. "The very first person the dark kingdom attacked, Naru. The one felled in the radio attack, Naru! The one brainwashed to try and steal that gaudy, carved crystal from that princess, Naru! The one who actually _fell_ for _Nephrite_, Naru! The one who was attacked by the Youma-preist, Naru! The one who was trapped in a giant, furry ball on her first date, Naru! The one who was with us at that casting studio, Naru! The one who _moved away from everyone she'd ever known so she wouldn't accidentally let on that she _knew_ you were Sailor Moon! That_ Naru!" She was breathing hard at the end of her rant. She rarely yelled, but today she'd thought it appropriate.

A stifled laugh came to her attention, and she whipped her gaze from her oldest friend to the man beside her. He had his hand clamped tight over his mouth, yet the chuckles were still leaking out. He swallowed a couple of times, managing to get himself mostly in control. "Sorry about that. I just... Wasn't she also the first person attacked by a Cardian, too? That she was a part of the first attack in this uprising is just too bizarre to believe, that's all."

Mars sighed, and leaned against Jupiter like the taller woman was a pillar. "Apparently, they were just kind of grouchy, but then they saw her, thought she'd make a good hostage, and the uprising stemmed from that. She's a sweet girl, and completely devoted to Her Majesty." She nodded at her Queen, who nodded back, still looking starstruck. "She's just..."

"A complete magnet for anything bad to happen." Jupiter replied, pushing Mars into a standing position.

Venus nodded. "So we all agreed. She lives here." She shrugged once. "There's nothing you can do about it, anyway. We can overrule you if we feel the safety of you or the kingdom is at stake. We've declared anything to do with that girl falls under Martial Law, and it comes directly to _us_."

Serenity blinked, finally coming out of her daze. "You've declared Martial Law on a _person?_" She squeaked, looking horrified. "But... we can't just lock someone up like that! That's against everything we stand for!"

Mars gave her a withering look. It was obvious all six of them had forgotten about their spectators. "We didn't 'lock her up'! What do you think we are, barbarians?"

"Technically true." Mercury muttered, making Venus smirk. "Not one of us is from Rome."

"For crying out loud, do you really think we'd do that?" Jupiter asked, looking outraged. "By Zeus, not while I'm around! We put her in charge of the Royal Nursery!"

"The nursery?" Serenity asked, confused.

"Uh hunh!" Venus replied, nodding her head vigorously. "We figured someone like that would be good for the little Princess. Teach her how to handle things as a normal human."

"Oh." Their Queen replied, sinking into her chair. "Oh, I see. And what did she think of Small Lady?"

The Senshi exchanged smirks, before Mercury spoke up, mimicking Naru's Osaka accent. "'I think the hair colour must come from her mother's side of the family. She looks just like her mother's cousin, Chibiusa.'"

No one ever did get a good answer for why that made their Queen howl and their King fall out of his throne with laughter.


End file.
